Great Cumbrae

Great Cumbrae is an island in the lower Firth of Clyde. It is 4km by 2km. Its only town is Millport on the west side of the island.

A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry connects it with Largs, Ayrshire on the Scottish mainland.

Whilst Great Cumbrae is inhabited, its neighbouring island of Little Cumbrae is uninhabited.It has recently (2003) been purchased privately and is to be developed as a memorial park.

Attractions

• Cathedral of the Isles
  • The Cathedral church of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles, within the Episcopal Church of Scotland (Anglican Communion), was designed by William Butterfield, one of the great architects of the Gothic revival. George Frederick Boyle, 6th Earl of Glasgow was the founder and benefactor. The Cathedral was completed in 1849 and opened in 1851. Formal gardens and woodland surround the cathedral which is the highest building on Great Cumbrae and the smallest cathedral in Great Britain and probaly in Europe.
• College of the Holy Spirit
  • Attached to the Cathedral, this former seminary for ordination training is now a Retreat House and the Argyll Diocesan Conference Centre.
• Museum of the Cumbraes
• Marine Biology Station, Keppel Pier
  • Run by the Universities of Glasgow and London. Has an aquarium of sea creatures from the Firth of Clyde, and a museum which tells the story of the sea and of the Clyde area.
• National Water Sports Centre